Shanpreta Howard and Antowain Johnson say they will travel to the end of the world for their kids.

But the Uptown couple are in trouble now because they allegedly dont always like to travel with their kids.

Howard, 34, and Johnson, 36, who live in an apartment building on North Winthrop, were each charged this week with misdemeanor endangerment, after allegedly leaving their children  ages 12 and 9  alone for two days while they took off for Las Vegas.

While the parents were away  beginning Feb. 22  the 12-year-old boy told his teacher about the Las Vegas trip. The teacher then contacted police, who went to the apartment and found the children.

An aunt then took custody of the children until the parents returned, police said.

Well, in the grand scheme of things, I have a feeling the couple had someone assigned to look in on the kids. Still, this is the big city, in the 21st century, in a building I bet has some unsavory types lurking around. I just think it’s hilarious the mother is so adamant the accusations aren’t true on her Facebook page yet, if you scroll down, you can see her talking about going to Las Vegas. Plus their picture is great-she looks like she’s ready to drop another one. And their names are the coup de grace- not just the first name but the last, as well- Howard and Johnson (get it?)

12
posted on 03/21/2012 8:08:54 PM PDT
by Krankor
(eenie meenie, chili beanie, the spirits are about to speak.)

Depending on the 12yr old... They might be responsible enough to babysit the 9 yr old for a couple of days. If the kids were 9 and 6 I could see the outrage, but 12 is getting pretty close to babysitter territory. I’m not sure that the outrage is justified here.

17
posted on 03/21/2012 8:27:36 PM PDT
by Ramius
(Personally, I give us one chance in three. More tea anyone?)

I don’t go to Vegas, but when my kids were younger I never had qualms with leaving ANY of them in charge of younger siblings, for up to 48 hours, when they were 12.

My sister-in-law didn’t like it. One of her kids ended up a drug addict. Another ended up a rapist. My kids? I see my oldest daughter and her 4 kids every week in church. I visit my oldest son at a university where he’s the head baseball coach. My #2 son played college baseball with his brother and is planning to open a restaurant after his wife graduates med school. The #3 son is applying to Annapolis. #4 son (14 years old) is a straight A student and is starting to carve a name for himself as an athlete (wrestling). The youngest, 11 years old, I’d leave in charge of all the rest....

The kids are smarter than the parents, I would not go to Las Vegas and I live in Henderson. Nothing but a glitzy neon money vacuum sweeper designed to take as much money as possible at the least effort.

19
posted on 03/21/2012 8:29:25 PM PDT
by BooBoo1000
(I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future.,)

Sis and I got left alone for a weekend, with a neighbor for emergency contact, at ages 12 and 11. We managed.

11 yrs. old is a little more mature than 9 yrs. old, and having 'backup' available makes all the difference.

It doesn't say in the story whether or not the parents actually had someone available for contact in case of an emergency, or if there was a neighbor who was willing to stop by to check on the kids. One of the neighbors mentioned that the place they lived was safe, but accidents can also happen, and kids that young, without the benefit of of someone to call, can make a situation worse because of poor judgement.

The kids are smarter than the parents, I would not go to Las Vegas and I live in Henderson. Nothing but a glitzy neon money vacuum sweeper designed to take as much money as possible at the least effort.

Same could be said about Disneyland. I didn't start going to Las Vegas until my kids were grown up but I can tell you that I spent way more money going to Disneyland than I do in Las Vegas. And in Las Vegas, I don't have to stand in line for hours on end in the blazing sun to take a 45-second ride or buy a $4 Cokes and $6 hot dogs.

Yeah, I was left at home alone at around those ages, and it was NEVER an issue. I was left with money/blank checks, and walked to the grocery store whenever I needed anything. I rather enjoyed the freedom, and I believe it helped me mature.

and of course...booze and loud music..Led Zep IV, Ziggy Stardust, Axis Bold as Love ..for the windowpane, Atom Heart Mother, ZZ Top Rio Grande Mud, early Sabbath, Aqualung, Traffic...speakers in the trees...we did it right

I loved when my folks were gone...I died and went to heaven

I ain’t leaving my kids here...no way..not till they are 30

27
posted on 03/21/2012 9:59:53 PM PDT
by wardaddy
(I am a social conservative. My political party left me(again). They can go to hell in a bucket.)

I stayed alone at about 13 or 14. I never even had a person in the house without permission. I just watched movies and ate pizza, but I loved being alone. My parents don’t appreciate what a good kid I was. Heeheehee

I'm with you wardaddy! My kids aren't staying home alone overnight until they're 30. When I was 14 my parents let me stay home for Soccer practice with my older brother for a few days while the rest of the family went camping. As soon as the parents left, so did my brother.

Things got a bit awry without the parental units around is all I'll admit to. But one of the worst was half the girls soccer team drank to much and we had an 8am practice the next day. It was 90 degrees out and we had to run two miles mid practice because we were doing so bad, for obvious reasons. Everyone started getting sick. I think the coach thought he was killing us all from heat exhaustion because he stopped practice and told us to go home and drink lots of water. I swore I would never drink another drop EVER! That didn't work out to well either.

a blown fuse or any other power outage
a backed up toilet
a small kitchen fire
a stranger at the door
a minor injury
a minor illness
or any phone call, email or facebook contact from people you dont know.

They should not be left alone over night.

I babysat a lot at 14 but the parents gave me cell phone numbers and were never more than 20-30 minutes away.

I was 16 and had a driver’s permit before my parents left me to care for my baby sister alone for the entire weekend!

It was 72-73...very early in what was unfortunately to become the drug culture and evolve into crack, meth and oxyheads

Noone really knew what kids were up to and they though pot smelled like oregano..the quality of pot then being rather low...some dads still sported Santini like flat tops and there was a definite us and them mentality...however an immature notion

and all the crazy stuff just kind of peaked at just the right time for me....the few years right before Dazed and Confused when it became cliche and Kiss (yuck) arrived

I cannot deny I did not have a fun and managed to get a degree and all that...with ups and downs ...and no, I don’t even smoke pot anymore not since 1984 but I’m not super anti pot and i would prefer my own kids not be stoners

We thought we were rebelling..acting out what we were seeing on TV in youth culture...we were only practicing youthful hedonism..not really complicated just in a very unrescricted window of time before folks got their senses back as to why we have certain cultural views about behavior in the first place

the music time capsule of late 60s thru early 70s is argubaly the pinnacle of rock...incredible...so glad I got to live it live time...it was a special era in that regard

36
posted on 03/22/2012 8:36:50 AM PDT
by wardaddy
(I am a social conservative. My political party left me(again). They can go to hell in a bucket.)

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.